I just finished watching the first season. I really loved the vibe of the show up until the exam, but then I felt it really shifted in tone.
Suddenly it felt like a shonen anime. A lot of time was spent introducing a vastly larger set of characters who ultimately didn’t seem like they mattered all that much.
There was a much greater emphasis on action and combat rather than a focus on characters and their relationship and Frieren’s/Fern’s connection to it all. Previous episodes frequently skipped combat entirely, only showing its conclusion (which was very refreshing).
There was also hardly any comedy, which was very common for the rest of the show. Instead, it got very serious, especially with people getting killed in the exam.
The pacing also just felt off - many previous episodes jumped entire months or even years, while the exam episodes might not even last a whole day.
I much preferred the start of the show and was a bit disappointed by this direction at the end. Am I alone in this thinking?
It was like that in the manga too, to be fair.
I obviously haven’t read the manga, but does it feel as “out of place” as in the anime? At least I feel in the anime that the exam arc was quite different and felt out of place compared to the rest.
Yeah it was a slower arc, but it wasn’t bad by any stretch. It didn’t feel all that out of place either. I haven watched the anime, but it’s a lot easier to convey magic in a single panel and thus “speed up” the arc.
I didn’t mind it, but agree that it felt like a bit of a speed bump in an otherwise well-paced show.
Honestly it felt like a completely different show from the second half. At first I kinda didn’t like it but by the end of the series I thought it was still pretty good.
I guess the author didn’t want the plot to go stale. I think it’s a good choice. While I personally wouldn’t mind the first half vibe to continue I think a lot of people would get bored of it.
Yea it really did feel like the author thought “damn I can’t continue like this, I gotta appeal to the shonen crowd too, otherwise people will just get bored”.
But I feel like it’s a shame cause the vibes of the first half is what makes the whole show special and unique from the rest of the standard “shonen with fight and a tournament arc”.
It still was done very well though. I can’t wait to see what next seasons will have in store. I’m sure we’ll get more chill and more fights and possibly something more.
Very well is quite the understatement it seems. I think it is well deserved for the first part, though I find the second part much less original. But it is very good yes. Also can’t wait for season 2! Unfortunately might take a while.
For now no news about S2 is reassuring because the worst thing that could happen would be rushed 12 episode series by J.C. Staff… Let me just hope Madhouse is working on another masterpiece.
